Progressive Grocer Magazine - September 2023

In this issue

It’s that time of year again when the festive season comes marching upon us. The period has traditionally enjoyed a very strong and deep connection with the culture of gifting. For retailers and brands, the season is marked by a huge surge in demand for food products that offer a mark of exclusivity and uniqueness when it comes to gifting.
In fact, the gifting theme has now permeated across all food categories. Read our Festive Gifting story (pages 38-43) on how retailers and brands come out with unique and innovative gift packs and gift hampers and valuefor- money products that are beautifully packaged to meet diverse choices for family and corporate gifting.
Our cover story in this issue (pages 24-34) shines the spotlight on north- Maharashtra’s oldest and most emblematic food and grocery retailer. Jalgaon-based Navjeevan chain of stores has been in the business for over 75 years now, starting off as a modest 25 sq.ft. store in 1946. It transitionedto being a modern supermarket in 1993 at a time when the modern trade concept was a novelty even in the bigger cities like Mumbai and Pune. Today, the chain has nine stores under the Navjeevan banner, with 26,000 sq.ft. of retailing area and Rs. 110 crore of annual revenue.